How I Make a 27-Piece Capsule Wardrobe Work

After cleaning out my bedroom closet recently, a specific argument I had with my mother came to mind. Back when I was just a high school student, I used to complain all the time that ” I never have anything to wear.”

One day my mother made me count the shirts hanging in my closet. The grand total? 57. That’s 57 SHIRTS! Some of those shirts still had the price tag! This does not include any dresses, skirts, dress pants, or anything else that might have been hanging in my closet.

Since my boyfriend and I moved in together, I have found myself again complaining constantly “I never have anything to wear” or “I need more clothes.” After trying on and organizing our closet, I found myself reevaluating my “need” for new clothes. I took everything out of the closet (including my boyfriend’s clothes, sorry honey) and tried on every dress and every shirt. If I didn’t love it or it didn’t fit, I put it in a trash bag and moved it to the Goodwill pile in our living room. I realized that I had everything I needed to wear to work and for everyday use as well.

When I’m not blogging, I work a full time job as a writer for one of those big fancy companies that requires you to dress business professional every day. I was complaining that I didn’t have enough clothes, yet I still managed to dress myself appropriately every day for 8 months since I first started thinking I didn’t have anything to wear.

Now I’m not saying that I have everything I need or that there aren’t some things I wish I had, but this capsule wardrobe works for me.

I own:

3 Dresses (two long sleeve and one sleeveless)

2 Maxi Skirts

1 Pair of Dress Pants

2 Jerseys (ECU and NY Giants)

2 Plain long sleeve shirts

2 Long sleeve blouses

1 Printed long sleeve t-shirt

2 Quarter sleeve blouses

2 Printed t-shirts

3 Tank top blouses

3 Tank tops

1 Halter top

1 Spaghetti strap shirt

2 Cardigans

In the future I plan to buy a little black dress, pencil skirt, solid white tee, and a blazer to hopefully complete my wardrobe.

By having fewer clothes, I spend less time trying to put together outfits and I save money by keeping my wardrobe small. I plan to clean out my dresser drawers, coats, and shoes sometime in the near future. I can’t wait to see how much I’ll be able to add to the Goodwill pile after that!